A fatal case of Q fever hepatitis in a child

A two-year-old boy of Arabic extraction presented with progressive jaundice and prolonged pyrexia. Both IgM and IgG immunofluorescent antibody titers for Q fever were 1:1280. Two goats and one cow of the domestic animals owned by the family also had positive antibody titers against Q fever. In spite of antibiotic treatment with tetracyclines and chloramphenicol, the hepatic involvement progressed gradually. On the twentieth day of admission the child succumbed from hepatic failure. This child presents a rare case of fatal hepatic failure due to Q fever.